Chapter Twelve: Judgement

A/N: The story begins to twist...

Shepard stared at the ceiling, his thoughts mildly keeping him from slipping into a sleep. Over his body he felt the scars, sores, bruises and other inflictions his body sustained in less than a galactic year. He lost his only real close relationship and yet his inability to accept emotions prevented him from grieving the loss. His mind couldn't rest. The only thing he could focus on was the low humming of Normandy's engines. The sound was soothing and almost rocked him to sleep until he heard the hissing of his quarters door open.

He sat up unable to focus his eyes fast enough to see who had entered. The doors closed sending him back into the darkness. The foot of his bed sank slowly as if whoever had entered was hesitant of being inside.

"Who's there?" Shepard called out.

"It's me."

Ashley's voice echoed softly within his ears suddenly inducing a sense of calmness within him.

"What's the problem?" he asked trying his best to sit up without feeling the fatigue to lay back. The silence between them revealed Ashley's hesitance to the matter. Shepard could feel her tremble but due to his sluggish reaction time he couldn't properly ask her.

"John, can we talk?"

The sudden use of his first name sent a sudden chill through his stomach.

"Sure, I mean, it's only two in the morning." he said sarcastically. He heard her breathe out forcefully.

"Why don't you pay any attention to me?"

"What?"

"Just listen to me. You're always doing the mission. You're always off somewhere else leaving me here on the ship to entertain everyone else."

"Williams, the mission is what matters. Without this being done there won't be anything to return to. You have to understand our mission, our objective, is what's important."

"Stop feeding me that shit." she scoffed.

"Watch yourself Williams." he retorted.

"No! You watch it! You're the one who got involved with the damn Asari before the mission. Don't give me that shit that you were for the mission when you were sleeping around with her."

Shepard tore off from his bed so fast that it made Ashely panic, she backed away and hit the wall behind her as his presence towered over her. She felt his palms hit the wall behind her head and his eyes that seemed to be engulfed in pure fury as it lowered down to hers.

"What the hell is your problem?" he hissed.

"Nothing, I'll leave." she said turning her head away from him.

"Tell me."

"No, I'll go."

"Tell me." he repeated.

"I'm sorry. Just let me go."

"I said tell me."

She sighed as Shepard saw her slowly break down. Her lower lip quivered slightly as her eyes began to water and strain from keeping them from touching his stare.

"Why don't you love me like you did her?" she confessed.

A wave of confusion washed over him as he stood straight releasing her from his aggressive appeal.

"I don't understand." he said calmly. She finally looked at him with tears running down her face and fear dwelling within them. She sniffled before responding,

"You're the only person that really gave a damn about me. My parents, my family... they're all living their own life and I'm here wishing I had something more to live up to. I try to make myself good enough for everyone and no one wants to take me in. Every person I trusted has one way or another left me and I have no one."

"What about your younger sister?"

"She's... she's with some guy and she doesn't keep in touch with me anymore. My parents are focusing on her now since I'm already in the service and they don't even keep in touch."

"So you're lonely? Big deal, we all can be sometimes." he said turning away from her.

"Do you honestly think it's that simple?"

"Simple is nothing I've experienced. Everything has something else leading to it." he spoke in a whisper.

"John, just answer me this. Do you really want your lineage to die? If you end up with a race other than us then your human genes would be lost to billions of years of alien genes. Your human line ends with you. Do you want that to happen?"

"Ash, I can't answer that because who am I to state my opinion."

"Do you even care for me anymore?"

"I never though I'd see you get this soft on me, Williams."

"Because I can trust you."

She placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him to face her she kissed his lips.

Lily placed her back against the wall adjacent to Shepard's door. Looking anymore made her stomach hurt and stiff. She didn't understand why she was getting upset by the situation. She didn't even know him that well. Even if he showed her compassion and sincerity which was something almost no one has ever given her, there wasn't a good valid reason as to why she felt this way.

He did resemble him though. He really did look like Artemis.

"Ah, child. You're starting to become too attached. Remember you have a job to accomplish and it will become even harder to do if you start to love him. You've made that fatal mistake once before and look how well that turned out." said the disembodied voice within the darkness of the stair well.

"Shut it, he's just a nice guy. I ain't getting attached.

"Oh? Then why did I sense the humanoid emotion of 'love' in your mind?"

"Just shut the hell up." she spat quietly.

"Complete your job, that's all I recommend."

"I ain't doing it."

"I beg your pardon?" the voice recoiled. A sudden black cloud emitted from the darkness pinning her to wall with dramatic force.

"I'm not doing it." she wheezed.

"Oh really? Now you don't have a choice. If you don't complete your assignment you will die such a painful death I'm sure you will wish you were dead. I will kill you myself in front of that man with my bear hands."

The next morning the crew sat within the comm room.

"Don't you all think it's kind of interesting that there's been absolutely no crime within the Traverse for days? It's like all of the crime lords, thieves and what not went into hiding." said Shepard as he turned to the hesitant Anolais, "I thought you said your fleet would be at the rendezvous point today?"

"Why yes, they ought to be here. Just give them more time." he said.

"For your sake I hope you aren't lying."

"Oh no, I wouldn't even shutter to think of such reason to do so. But I'm afraid I failed to mention one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"Well, I believe the world you humans originate is in utter danger."

"You figure? Every world is in danger." said Shepard sarcastically.

"True but I recommend that you take extreme caution."

Shepard nodded as he turned his sights to Lily who sat quietly inconspicuously drawing attention to herself.

"I have a few questions for you." he said. She peered up quickly.

"Yes?"

He motioned for everyone to leave, ignoring the sudden gaze Williams gave him. Shepard then reached into a small tube like container and pulled out a small orb like creature.

"I see you kept her safe." said Lily.

"Well it wasn't my idea to keep this thing in here. It sorta hid when we got you here and ever since it remained in here."

Lumie hovered playfully over to Lily who smiled at the sight of her friend.

"Hello, did you behave?" she asked twirling the small orb with her finger.

"Lily."

"Sir?"

"Please explain to me what the hell is this 'Lumie'?" he asked. The orb hovered between her palms.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure. My mother gave this to me right before she left. It was just a dense metal ball though. It wasn't until I met ... him... that it began to glow and take on a personality."

"Meet him? What do you mean?"

Lily felt a wave of sorrow wash over her.

"I met someone, several years ago. He was a human like you who took me aboard his ship when I was at my lowest. We became close and things got serious."

"What happened?"

"He... uh... passed away."

"That's rough. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Oh, it's alright. Anyway, after that the metal ball that I always carried around for luck suddenly began to glow. One day it began to float and follow me and the suddenly it started talking to me."

"You mean make those weird sounds."

"Yeah. And then after that I found out I can merge with it. Every time I repeat this old rhyme my mother used to tell me while holding Lumie, we merge and I become something else."

"Something else?"

"It's hard to explain. Once I merge with her I loose control of myself. I'm still conscious of what happens but I'm unable to do anything. My biotics become so immense that I can die at any moment from using it. It's really like I'm gambling with my life every time I merge but I do it to get out of situations I know I can't do alone. I feel like this is my mother's gift to me. For leaving me."

"I know how it feels to be robbed of your parents." said Shepard.

"I guess we have a lot more common."

"I guess you're right."

The alarms started to blare with excessive screeches.

"Commander, the Citadel has picked up a massive relay shift in the Traverse." said Joker over the intercom.

"That's all well and nice Joker but what the hell does that mean?"

"It means that whatever traveled through the mu relay was so big and numerous it actually pulled the relay's out of orbit and are on a collision course to the Sol System."

"What the hell is going on?!" barked Shepard.

Lily knew what was happening. It was just like before. The stars were aligning and beginning to guide her to her destiny. Just like with her Prothean lover... the Reapers have begun to strike.